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System Administrator at Udenar
Real User
A complete solution, but it is very expensive compared with other solutions

What is our primary use case?

We use FortiGate for edge protection by avoiding attacks to the servers of the institution, also, by protecting the LAN network.

How has it helped my organization?

Having FortiGate allowed for easy management of the network, protection from threats by having a very intuitive administration console.

What is most valuable?

The most important feature for me apart from the administrator is the UTM module because it protects the equipment of the entity in a very efficient way.

What needs improvement?

FortiGate is a complete solution, but it is very expensive compared with other solutions. Then actually, we are analyzing other solutions.

Buyer's Guide
Fortinet FortiGate
December 2024
Learn what your peers think about Fortinet FortiGate. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: December 2024.
824,067 professionals have used our research since 2012.

For how long have I used the solution?

More than five years.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
PeerSpot user
Dono at a tech consulting company
Consultant
The projects' initial costs were high but right now we can do most things, and the only costs now are the annual license fees.

What is most valuable?

  • Active Directory integration
  • QOS
  • Balance/Fail-over
  • Web filtering and protection with AV engine
  • WiFi network for visitors isolated from our corporate WiFi network using only one unit

How has it helped my organization?

After the implementation we stopped internet disruptions and abuse by users.

What needs improvement?

Everything needs to be improved, but they have improvements with each new version.

For how long have I used the solution?

We've been using Fortinet products since 2009. Alongside FortiGate. we also use FortiAnalyzer 10C and FortiWiFi 40C & 50B.

What was my experience with deployment of the solution?

Yes, a misunderstanding of the environment and misconfiguration of the unit. After reviewing it all, everything has been working fine for years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It works as defined and expected.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We have the ability to expand our units and there have been no issues so far.

How are customer service and technical support?

Customer Service:

It's the best I have experienced.

Technical Support:

It's the best I have experienced.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

Previously, we used Linux distributions, and we changed due to its limitations and our company expansion.

How was the initial setup?

It's straightforward. You just need to understand the concept, and how to apply it.

What about the implementation team?

We used an external company and they had a good amount of knowledge.

What was our ROI?

We have never stopped to calculate it, but we cannot describe how good we feel since we no longer face issues with the internet.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The projects' initial costs were high but right now we can do most things, and the only costs now are the annual license fees.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We also looked at BlueCoat.

What other advice do I have?

Feel free to ask me questions about Fortinet.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Fortinet FortiGate
December 2024
Learn what your peers think about Fortinet FortiGate. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: December 2024.
824,067 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Arf Wu - PeerSpot reviewer
Manager at Readytech
Reseller
Straightforward setup, scalable, and good support
Pros and Cons
  • "Fortinet FortiGate is a scalable solution."
  • "The stability of Fortinet FortiGate could improve."

What needs improvement?

In an upcoming release, Fortinet FortiGate should add an SD-WAN feature.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Fortinet FortiGate for approximately five years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability of Fortinet FortiGate could improve.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Fortinet FortiGate is a scalable solution.

How are customer service and support?

I am satisfied with the technical support from Fortinet FortiGate.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is straightforward.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The price of Fortinet FortiGate is reasonable.

What other advice do I have?

I am satisfied with the solution.

I rate Fortinet FortiGate an eight out of ten.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:
PeerSpot user
reviewer1136826 - PeerSpot reviewer
Manager at a financial services firm with 11-50 employees
Real User
Great performance and management features
Pros and Cons
  • "Good performance, stability, and virtual domain ability."
  • "The support system could be improved."

What is our primary use case?

We use this solution as a firewall proxy. I'm the company manager. 

What is most valuable?

Valuable features include the performance, stability, and virtual domain ability as well as the management that it provides.

What needs improvement?

There are some limitations to the solution such as publishing multiple servers with a single IP. I'd also like to see some improvement in the support system. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using this solution for two years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is stable. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I think the scalability could be improved.

How are customer service and support?

Technical support is a little slow and needs to be improved.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is reasonably straightforward. 

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Compared to other vendors and other firewalls, the Fortinet pricing is reasonable.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
reviewer1485723 - PeerSpot reviewer
Compliance Officer at a venture capital & private equity firm with 11-50 employees
Real User
Good UI, easy to use, and offers reasonable pricing
Pros and Cons
  • "Overall, the pricing of the solution is very good. The product offers good value."
  • "There aren't really any negative aspects to discuss."

What is our primary use case?

We primarily use this solution for our network, as virtual security of the network. It helps protect us and keeps us safe.

What is most valuable?

The overall experience has been very good. It fully meets our requirements. We find the solution to be pretty user-friendly.

The solution has a lot of features. I'm not sure if there is one that stands out as the most valuable for us.

The stability of the solution is very good.

The vendor has been very good at providing us with everything we need.

Overall, the pricing of the solution is very good. The product offers good value.

The product is quite flexible.

We've found the scalability to be very good.

The dashboards and UI are very nice.

What needs improvement?

We aren't really missing any features. 

The solution isn't lacking anything. We've been overall very please with the experience we've had. There aren't really any negative aspects to discuss.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have used the solution for a while. It's been more than five years at this point.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

So far, we have found the stability of the product to be quite good. It doesn't crash or freeze on us. We haven't experienced bugs or glitches. The performance is reliable. It's good.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

You can scale the solution if you need to. It's not a difficult thing to do.

We do plan to continue using this solution.

How are customer service and technical support?

We don't have any experience with technical support. No problems have really presented themselves, and therefore there hasn't been a need to reach out at all. Therefore, we can't really speak to the helpfulness of technical support.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We didn't previously use a different solution.

How was the initial setup?

This is a cloud-based solution. Therefore, there really isn't an installation process per se. It's very easy to get started. 

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The solution offers good value for your money. It isn't too expensive.

What other advice do I have?

It is my understanding that we are using the latest version of the solution. However, I am not 100% positive. I don't know which version number we are currently on.

I'm not sure if I would recommend the product. It would depend on each individual company's needs.

I would rate this solution at an eight out of ten. It's been a pretty positive experience overall.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Chief Information Officer at teamddt
Real User
A continuously updated firewall solution with a good antispam filter
Pros and Cons
  • "I like Fortinet FortiGate's antispam filter, SPN, and clustering features."
  • "Application management can be improved."

What is our primary use case?

We use Fortinet FortiGate to implement firewalls for our customers.

What is most valuable?

I like Fortinet FortiGate's antispam filter, SPN, and clustering features.

What needs improvement?

There is room for improvement. When it comes to email spam detection, Baracuda is the highest or the best, Cisco is the lowest, and Fortinet FortiGate is in the middle. Application management can be improved. Analysis and sandbox can also be improved in the next release. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Fortinet FortiGate for around three years.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Scalability can be improved. Compared to Cisco, Fortinet FortiGate's scalability is in a good position.

How are customer service and technical support?

Fortinet FortiGate offers good technical support services.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is straightforward. For example, the SMB solution is straightforward. We have to follow the instructions and customize it as per the customer's request for the enterprise solution.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Fortinet FortiGate's price can be reduced. 

What other advice do I have?

Fortinet FortiGate is highly recommended because they update everything every second. 

On a scale from one to ten, I would give Fortinet FortiGate a nine. 

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
reviewer1084257 - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Infrastructure Specialist at a government with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
A resilient, secure, and scalable solution that provides a secure connection for remote work.
Pros and Cons
  • "The web filtering feature and the intrusion protection system are the most valuable. It is a resilient appliance. I never had an issue with it in terms of any security breaches."
  • "Its reporting capabilities can be improved. It should have some out-of-the-box reporting capabilities and some degree of customization. The basic reporting that it currently has is not sufficient to create more usable reports. It needs some sort of out-of-the-box reporting. They try to make customers purchase FortiAnalyzer for this kind of reporting, which is an additional cost. Other firewall vendors, such as SonicWall and Sophos, provide this sort of reporting without any additional cost."

What is our primary use case?

We utilize the services to ensure the stability of our network and clients protection from external treats. With the recent pandemic mobile working have increased in demand and Fortinet have easily bridge that gap to continue to support employee needs.

How has it helped my organization?

It has provided us the ability to work remotely during the pandemic. It opens a secure connection to the office for an employee working remotely from home.

What is most valuable?

The web filtering feature and the intrusion protection system are the most valuable.

It is a resilient appliance.

What needs improvement?

Its reporting capabilities can be improved. Some out-of-the-box reports needs to be able to provide usable data for example for web monitoring and reporting or browsing patterns and details.  Some customers does not require any forensic type reporting and may not want to invest in all the features offered by the FortiAnalyzer.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using this solution for the past seven years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is stable. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It is scalable. There are no issues. In terms of the number of users who use FortiGate, we have only about ten users for remote working. Only selected users utilize this remote capability.

How are customer service and technical support?

Technical support is good. If I have an inquiry or request, it is usually addressed within the same business day or within the 24 hours period as per the vendor's support agreement.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I was on a Check Point platform, and then I migrated to FortiGate. Migrating from the Check Point environment to the FortiGate environment was new for me. We rely on a vendor for support. The vendor was kind of phasing out the support of the Check Point product. That's why we switched. 

How was the initial setup?

We are currently on 80D, and it was a direct upgrade. The deployment didn't take that long because it was a direct replacement or upgrade from an older appliance 60D to 80D. It was easy for the vendor to deploy because they saved the policies and other things that were in use for the older appliance and had to be migrated over to the new appliance. It was done within maybe a day or two.

What about the implementation team?

We outsourced it to a local vendor, and it was deployed by the vendor. We do our own internal monitoring, and the vendor does the actual set up. So far, our experience with the vendor has been excellent in terms of response. Their technical staff is also very knowledgeable.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

We just pay an affordable flat monthly fee to the vendor for the monitoring and support.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

I learned about different options and their benefits and listened to vendors' proposals for migration. We evaluated pfSense, which is open source. We were trying to determine whether to go for open source as opposed to an industry-standard and proprietary product. I also engaged other vendors who offered Sophos technology and SonicWall. I trusted the vendor-supported product and considered the cost associated with the migration. The current vendor could upgrade it with no implementation cost, and we just had to pay a monthly service fee or rental. 

Based on the research, FortiGate seemed like a reasonable firewall, and it is also more or less recognized and trusted all over, so I trusted FortiGate. Overall, I was happy with the performance of the FortiGate, so I kind of stuck with that one.

What other advice do I have?

I would definitely recommend this product, but there are other products in the market, such as Sophos and SonicWall, that are just as effective. 

We will be using this solution for at least the next three years. We renewed the license for three years in August of this year. We are thinking of upgrading to a newer appliance before that.

I would rate Fortinet FortiGate an eight out of ten. I am pleased with this solution and the features it offers right now. It just needs minor adjustments in terms of reporting and staying up to date with industry standards.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Head Of IT Infrastructure at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Has a good payment function for applications but configuring and management is not easy
Pros and Cons
  • "The payment function for applications is good."
  • "Difficult to add or define, and not that easy to configure and manage."

What is our primary use case?

Our primary use case is for a data center firewall. I've been using Fortigate but I'm also currently evaluating Cisco and Check Point. We are customers of Fortinet and I'm in IT infrastructure. 

What is most valuable?

I like the payment function for applications.

What needs improvement?

It's difficult to add or define, and it's not that easy to configure and manage. We're looking for something more flexible for the long term. I also find that the performance is limited in comparison to other solutions. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using this solution for three years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The product is stable. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution is scalable but when you do scale, it limits the performance. We have over 1,000 users in our company and four people who deal with the maintenance of all our solutions. 

How are customer service and technical support?

Technical support is acceptable, and they're good in terms of local support and global support. If they cannot resolve the issue they will pass us to another level of support. 

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I previously had experience with CheckPoint, Cisco, and Palo Alto. I would rate Palo Alto as the best firewall in the world. 

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is relatively straightforward. 

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

This product could be a little cheaper although compared to other similar solutions, it's more reasonably priced. 

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Fortinet FortiGate Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: December 2024
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Fortinet FortiGate Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.